For two of our case studies of contact-induced
change we are currently looking for:
- 2 PhD Students (1.0 fte)
- Vacancy number: 14-087
starting September 2014, or soon
thereafter.

Project Description
In areas without written historical records,
where archaeological and ethnographic data are
absent or sparse, language forms the backbone
of our understanding of socio-cultural history.
This project investigates one such region, in
eastern Indonesia.

Through synchronic language data, this project
traces the socio-cultural history of population
groups on Flores, Pantar, and Alor. It combines
linguistic tracing of cultural contact and
migration (e.g. kinship terminology, place
names, ritual language) with three case studies
of contact-induced transfer between Papuan and
Austronesian languages, involving superstrate,
adstrate and substrate influence respectively.
Qualitative data, comparisons, and historical
scenarios are quantitatively cross-validated.
This contrastive comparison of different paths
of change at a regional level, with typology as
a constant and quantitative validation of
qualitative results, will truly break new
ground.

Your profile
The candidate should have:
- a Master or equivalent degree in a relevant
field (completion of the MA thesis before the
PhD project starts);
- demonstrable affinity with descriptive and/or
contact and/or historical linguistics;
- a curious, enterprising and creative mind and
excellent analytical skills, evidence of which
should emerge from the MA thesis;
- good writing skills;
- proficiency in English. If you are a
non-native speaker of English you are asked to
submit proof of proficiency in English with an
appropriate test (IELTS 7.0; or TOEFL
100/250/600 Academic module; or Cambridge
Proficiency Certificate);
- a demonstrable knowledge of spoken
Indonesian, or the willingness to learn
Indonesian in the first half year of the
project;
- experience in fieldwork (preferably on a
language of Indonesia) will be
advantageous;
- ability to work both independently and as
part of a team.

Tasks
The candidate is supposed to carry out the
following tasks:
- conducting original research on one of the
following topics:
1. Transfer of words: Indonesian and Abui.
This research explores current contact between
Indonesian (Austronesian) and Abui (Papuan;
Kratochvíl 2007, Kratochvíl and Delpada 2008).
By analyzing and comparing the language of
bilingual middle-aged adults and pre-adolescent
bilingual children, you will be able to chart
changes that are ongoing in a small Papuan
language dominated by an influential
Austronesian language.
2. Language shift: Lamaholot.
In the area where Lamaholot (Austronesian) is
spoken today, no Papuan languages are spoken
today, but observations gleaned from the
sources available on Lamaholot grammar (Nagaya
2012, Nishiyama and Kelen 2007, Keraf 1978,
Arndt 1937) suggest that it has a possible
Papuan substrate. In this research, you will
investigate to what extent these observations
are supported by synchronic Lamaholot data. Is
Lamaholot the result of a shift? If it is, what
does this suggest about the lexicon and
structure of the Papuan substrate language(s)
once spoken in the Lamaholot area?

- writing a PhD thesis;
- submitting research results for publication
in peer-reviewed academic journals;
- presenting papers at (international)
conferences;
- some teaching in the second and third year of
the appointment;
- organizing and participating in reading and
discussions groups, seminars, workshops within
LUCL.

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